Civil Department Judges

Last Updated March 30, 2022

San Mateo County Superior Court Reopens Civil Ex Parte Calendars on April 4, 2022

Effective Monday, April 4, 2022, civil ex parte calendars will reopen. The emergency local rule temporarily suspending civil ex parte calendars has been vacated. Parties are required to comply with Local Rule 3.500, including that ex parte applicants and opponents must appear in person, subject to the exceptions set forth in CRC Rule 3.1207. Ex parte applications in Unlawful Detainer cases must be brought before the assigned civil judge, not the Presiding Judge. Each civil judge conducts ex partes in their assigned civil cases at 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. two days per week; please check the Court's website at www.sanmateo.courts.ca.gov under the Civil Division for the ex parte days of the week for your assigned judge. The Presiding Judge and the Probate Judge will continue to have their own separate ex parte days and hours.

San Mateo Moves to Direct Calendaring in Civil Effective January 1, 2021

San Mateo Superior Court has adopted a direct calendar model, where all civil cases are assigned to a single judge, for all purposes. The Civil Clerk's Office is in the process of sending Notices of Assignment for all current and newly filed cases.

Calendar Availability for New Motions

To schedule a motion on the assigned judge's calendar, check available dates on the calendar availability page.

Informal Discovery Conferences

Before filing a motion to compel discovery or any other discovery motion, parties must have had an Informal Discovery Conference with the Court. Counsel must have exhausted all meet and confer obligations before the Informal Discovery Conference. (Local Rule 3.700 (a)) The Civil Commissioner will hear Informal Discovery Conferences by conference call. To schedule an Informal Discovery Conference, email the Civil Commissioner's Department, IDC@sanmateocourt.org, after January 1, 2021. Please check available dates on the Informal Discovery Conference Calendar Availability page. Each Informal Discovery Conference will be scheduled for a 30 minute time slot.

Mandatory Settlement Conference Procedures

Parties will no longer submit a paper copy of their Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) Statements to Master Calendar. Instead, parties must timely lodge their MSC Statements by e-filing with the Court. Until Covid 19 Pandemic restrictions are lifted, Mandatory Settlement Conferences will be held remotely, using Zoom video conferencing. The assigned civil judge will calendar the MSC at the Case Management and Trial Date Setting Conference. The MSC will be conducted by a civil judge who is not the judge assigned to the case.

Case Management Conferences

The Civil Commissioner hears the initial Case Management Conference. The calendar is heard via Zoom. Follow this link for the Commissioner Mau's Zoom Credentials.